We've Got Nothin' but the Songs We Sing
by Chidori R. Fullbuster
Summary: Kurt knows Blaine... or does he? What happens when Blaine starts to open up about his life before Dalton, back when he went to Arborland High? Glee/Little White Lie crossover
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I've been super into 'Little White Lie' by Starkid lately and have writer's block on all of my Glee stories right now. So, I'm combining the two! This will be a multi-chap fic. Reviews are greatly appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Little White Lie**

Kurt and Blaine walked down the halls of McKinley, about to head to glee practice. "Hey, Blaine," Kurt said as they paused at their lockers. "Where did you go to school before you went to Dalton?" He pulled a couple text books out of his messenger bag and slid them into his locker, glancing over at his boyfriend as he waited for an answer. Blaine had told him before that if he had any questions about his past, to just ask and he had been wondering about this for a while now.

Blaine leaned back against the lockers, debating on what to say. He had Kurt had been together for almost half a year. To most people, that wouldn't seem like a big deal, but by Glee Club standards, they might as well be planning their wedding. Plus, he loved Kurt; he deserved to know. "Well, I'm not originally from Ohio," he started off. "I'm from a town in Michigan called Arborland. I went to elementary school there and my first couple years of middle school also. My eighth grade year, however, we moved because of my dad's job. I came out at my new school. I told you about what happened at that dance." He nodded at Kurt, who was wearing a confused expression that went beautifully with his Marc Jacobs shirt. "Well, after that, I begged for us to go back to Arborland. I missed it there. So my dad managed to get transferred back.

"However," Blaine continued, running a hand back through his ungelled curls. "I kept my sexuality under wraps. I knew what it was like to get attacked for who you were, so I didn't flaunt it. I didn't date though, which got people talking. So, right as eleventh grade started, I started dating the most popular girl in school, Tanya Freemont."

"Wait," Kurt interrupted. "We met during eleventh grade last year. Was that really…?"

Blaine smirked slightly. "The day you came to spy on the Warblers was actually my first performance as their lead soloist. That was their way of presenting me to the school." He shook his head at the shocked expression on Kurt's face. "So, back at Arborland High, we didn't have glee club, but being in a band was everything. So, when I started dating Tanya, I became the guitarist for her band, Tanya Freemont and the Hot Girls."

"Wait, you were a Hot Girl?" Kurt raised his eyebrows, a tiny smile on his lips.

"Shut up," Blaine glowered playfully at him before continuing. "Tanya's band had won Battle of the Bands our sophomore year, even though they were terrible. My friends had already graduated and I gotten popular dating Tanya, so I couldn't really complain about their music. They won again, but the band that really deserved to win was Little White Lie."

"What was the song you guys won with?"

"'Boy Toy'," Blaine answered distastefully. "The _only_ good part about it was my guitar solo and Tanya interrupted it."

"What did Little White Lie sing?" Kurt asked as he finally closed his locker, genuinely interested in what his boyfriend was telling him.

"'It's Over Now'," Blaine answered, a reminiscent grin on his face. "I remember thinking how amazing their song had been, which had been a big deal, 'cause they used to be this band called Reese's Pieces and they sucked…"

"Wait, why Reese's Pieces?" Kurt inquired, wondering why in the world anyone would want to have a band named after candy.

"Oh, the brother and sister who started the band, Duder and Sami, their last name is Reese. For whatever reason, though, they changed their band name to Little White Lie." Blaine shrugged. "I knew they had to win. I was shocked and slightly angry when Zack, he's guy who puts on Battle of the Bands every year, announced Tanya's band was the winner. Though, Little White Lie became the coolest band in school overnight."

"Was being in a band really that important?" Call Kurt old fashioned, but he preferred his show tunes and musical numbers as opposed to most mainstream radio trash or anything from the same mold as such.

The curly haired teen searched for the right answer, speaking slowly. "Being in a band, not just a band though, a _good_ band, at Arborland High was like being a Warbler back at Dalton. Everybody loved you; everybody wanted to be your best friend." Kurt's eyes widen as he mouthed the word 'wow'. Blaine nodded. "I'll finish telling the rest of the story later, alright? If we don't start heading to the choir room, we're going to be late for glee."

"Right you are, Blaine," Kurt said, holding his hand out for his boyfriend to take. "Let's go." When the other teen didn't take it, he stared at him for a moment. "Blaine? What's wrong?"

"I should have told you that first," Blaine muttered softly, looking off down the hall. "My name isn't Blaine."

Kurt blinked. "What're you talking about?" The countertenor asked nervously. "Your name's Blaine Anderson."

"No, it isn't," he answered, looking back at Kurt. "My name is actually Toby Phillips."


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! Second chapter! So, there's more backstory. I swear this story has plot, I just have to get through all of the backstory first.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Little White Lie**

"Wait, what?" Kurt demanded, staring at his boyfriend. "What're you talking about, Blaine?"

The curly haired singer sighed. "Kurt, I just told you, my name isn't Blaine. It's Toby."

The countertenor locked eyes with Blaine, er, Toby, whoever it was. "I don't believe you," Kurt said shakily. His boyfriend looked extremely seriously, not like he was about to just start laughing at Kurt's gullible nature. "Prove it and I'll believe you."

The other boy sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. He slid out his driver's license, holding it out for Kurt to examine. Kurt took it with the realization he had never seen Blaine's license before. He looked down at it, feeling his stomach drop. Right beside picture of his boyfriend read 'Name: Toby Everett Phillips'. He felt his knees weaken.

"Kurt?" Toby asked tentatively. He knew better than to step forward or to move in anyway. Knowing Kurt, he was going to lash out in five…four…three…two…

The porcelain skinned teen slid his phone out of his jeans, furiously tapping a message out before sticking the device back into his pocket. "Alright," he said, gritting his teeth slightly. "Now, Bla- _Toby_, you are coming with me to the Lima Bean so you can finish your story so maybe I can understand what's happening."

"What about glee club?" Toby asked, thoroughly confused. He enjoyed glee. Plus, he and Kurt were supposed to perform 'As Long As You're Mine' today in class and, knowing Schuester, they wouldn't get another opportunity.

"Mercedes is covering for us," Kurt said, grabbing his partner by the arm and practically dragging him along the corridor. "This is more important than glee."

Toby raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He allowed Kurt to lead him out of the school to his Navigator. He got in quietly, closing the door gently so his boyfriend wouldn't have a reason to yell at him.

Kurt, however, was a completely different story. He shut his door forcefully, causing Toby to flinch and look over at him, his honey hazel eyes wide with shock. "Well?" Kurt demanded as he cranked up his SUV, pulling out of the parking lot. "Start talking."

"Kurt," Toby started cautiously. He knew the boy next to him was irritated. He just wasn't sure why yet. "Why you mad at me?"

The Navigator jerked to a halt at a red light. Kurt turned his head toward Toby, his bitch glare in place. "Well, let's see. I just found out everything I know about my boyfriend is a lie! Don't you think I have the right to be a little upset?"

Toby winced at the accusation. "Not everything," he defended as the light turned green and the car lurched forward. "Just my name and I have good reason for that."

Kurt stayed silent until they pulled into the Lima Bean. "I take it that reason will be in your story?" Toby nodded. "Alright, let's go then." They got out of the car, walking side by side into the shop. The barista saw them and immediately started on Toby's medium drip and Kurt's Grande nonfat mocha.

"Why don't you go get a table?" Toby suggested as he approached the counter, pulling out his wallet. "I'll get the drinks." Kurt just nodded as he stalked over to their usual table. Toby sighed, taking the drinks from the barista and handing over the money for it with a smile and a 'thank you'. He sat down at the table across from Kurt, sliding him his coffee.

Kurt took a sip from the cup, humming contentedly. "So, last thing you told me was Little White Lie became the coolest band in school."

"Right," Toby nodded, his hands fidgeting with the lid of his coffee cup. "Well, the night after Battle of Bands, Tanya had a party and invited pretty much everyone. Sami showed, but Duder didn't." Toby smile slightly before his expression became serious again. "Well, Tanya and Sami hated each other. So while everyone was talking, Tanya managed to start this rumor that Sami was going to be getting a sex reassignment surgery."

Kurt choked on his coffee. "She told them Sami was getting a _sex change_?" He hissed; his expression horrified. He didn't even know this girl and her felt bad for her.

"Yeah," Toby shook his head. "Everyone believed it, but they were acting stupidly supportive and one guy called her up next to him and started talking about it. That's how she found how. She ran out of the party." He paused for a second. "I ran after her.

"I apologized; I said I didn't know what Tanya had been thinking, admitted that all of the people in there weren't my friends and I only hung around them because I didn't know anyone else." Toby smiled a little more openly. "Then, Sami invited me to join Little White Lie."

Kurt blinked. "Did you pretend to be hetero so long that you had a crush on Sami?" He asked coldly.

Toby glared at him, hurt in his eyes. "Anyway, I ended up missing the first practice with the band because Tanya wanted me to come over. I was angry at her for what she pulled at the party and she knew that. So I went over and she had everything set up for us to watch 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'The Notebook', which was her idea of making up after a fight." Kurt snorted at the cliché overtone of the whole 'makeup'. Toby rolled his eyes. "So after, I went to Sami's house to apologize for missing practice. Then I noticed her sheet music for all of the songs she had written.

"She had written a love song about herself-"

"Wow," Kurt sneered. "Really conceited isn't she?"

Toby let out an exasperated breath. "Kurt, if you're not going to listen without making snarky comments, why are we here?" Kurt glowered at him. Toby reached across the table and took Kurt's hand in his, taking it as a good sign when Kurt didn't try to flinch away. "Love, please just tell me why you're in such a bad mood. Like, I get I should have told you all of this before, but I was scared to."

Kurt sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I guess I hate knowing that you kept all of this from me." He muttered, looking up at Toby through his eyelashes. "It's just a lot to take in at one time."

"Well," Toby smiled. "Why don't we finish our coffee and catch the last twenty or so minutes of glee club and I'll finish this story sometime later?"

"Agreed," Kurt smirked. "Only on the condition you have to tell everything you've already told me to the rest of the club."

Toby grimaced at the thoughts of how the New Directions would take this news. "Deal."

**Reviews are wonderful to receive. ~C.Y.R.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Third chapter! The next chapter is the last chapter with massive backstory, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Little White Lie.**

The entirety of the McKinley Glee Club, minus Brittany, was staring at Toby in complete and utter shock. He had just gotten finished recounting everything he had already explained to Kurt. There had been a few swears, many scandalized looks (mostly from Rachel and Quinn), and quite a few gasps of shock from the group as a whole. All in all, Toby and Kurt considered them to be taking it well.

Mr. Shuester wasn't in the room at the present time because, after welcoming Kurt and 'Blaine' back, he had left to talk to Figgins about something or another; no one had really been paying attention to him when he had left, as per usual.

"Whoa, dude, way to just throw that at us," Finn said, still slightly awestruck at the overwhelming amount of information the guy formerly known as Blaine had just presented them with. Everyone nodded in agreement, eyeing Toby warily.

"Why would you need to go by a false name?" Rachel demanded. Her eyes lit up with realization, an angry spark illuminating their dark color. She jumped to her feet, an accusing finger pointed at Toby. "Spy!"

Santana rolled her eyes, jerking Rachel back into her seat. "Didn't he just say that they don't have glee where he's from?"

"I'm not really surprised," Brittany spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her in shock. "You never really looked like a Blaine to me, mostly because you never wore yellow. You remind me more of the little boy that killed the barber at the end of that one movie with all the singing and blood."

"Oh…kay," Toby smiled a little at Brittany's explanation (he found her off-the-wall comments incredibly endearing), whereas everyone else was either shaking their heads or staring at the blond, slightly befuddled at her reasoning: Nothing out of the ordinary.

"So, wait," Sam said, brushing his hair out of his face. "Does Mr. Schue know that your name isn't really Blaine Anderson?"

Toby nodded. "All of the teachers know my name isn't Blaine because when I transferred here from Dalton, my parents conferenced with them, explaining the situation. They don't know the whole story though."

"Speaking of the whole story," Kurt said, taking a seat near the front, beside Brittany and Artie, who had his wheelchair parked in front of Brittany's chair. "Since we have everyone else caught up to speed, why don't you finish the story?"

"Fair enough," Toby agreed. "Well, where I left off, Sami had started writing a love song about herself. When I asked her why, she said she felt like no guy would ever write something like that for her, so she did it herself."

"Sounds like something Rachel would do," Quinn muttered under her breath, earning a glare from Rachel and Finn.

"Anyway, so, the next day, I couldn't get the song 'Sami' out of my head. I was at home, playing the song on my guitar, trying to figure out how to end it. I felt like she didn't need to write that song for herself, that she needed to know that someone else thought she was beautiful and important enough to have a song written about her. Well, while I was playing it, Tanya walked in."

"Wait, how'd she get in your house?" Mercedes asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion."

"I'm still not really sure," Toby admitted. "I had the front door locked, so I have this theory she stole my key from me one day and had a copy made, but I never found out if it was true or not."

"Crazy bitch is crazy," Puck offered with a smirk. Artie nodded in agreement.

"Well," Toby continued. "Tanya got really upset and ran out of my house, yelling at me to stay away from her."

"Well, can you blame her?" Tina inquired from her place next to Mike. "You were singing a song about another girl while you were dating her. Regardless of your intentions, you shouldn't have been doing that."

Toby shrugged. "I know. But it's not like I just expected Tanya to randomly burst in my house, which is supposed to be a haven of sorts."

"He has a point," Mike agreed.

"So, the next day, we had practice. By this point, Little White Lie was made up of Sami, Duder, this guy named Jim Povolo, and myself."

"Wait, who's Jim?" Artie asked. "You didn't mention him earlier."

"He plays drums in the band," Toby answered patiently. "He joined, like, a day before I did. He's, like, monstrously huge. He's taller than Finn."

"No way," Santana scoffed. "No one's taller than Frankenteen."

"Whatever," Toby said. "So, we were in Duder's garage, waiting on Sami. Well, when she showed up, she told us she had a new addition to the band; a back-up vocalist. Then Tanya came in, carrying a plate of 'Welcome Tanya' cookies."

"Wait," Quinn interrupted. "I thought you said Tanya and Sami hated each other."

"They do," Toby sighed. "But, for whatever reason, Sami let her into the band; apparently deluded into thinking she was going to be a great addition. What Sami didn't realize, though, was that Tanya couldn't sing. So, in three days before the recording session Duder had managed to get set up Nigel Waters, the owner of this incredibly popular record store in Arborland, Sami managed to teach Tanya how to sing. The recording session went amazingly."

Right at that moment, Mr. Schuester walked back in. Toby quickly took a seat in the chair next to Kurt as their teacher started talking. "Alright guys," Schue called, handing out forms to each of the members of the club. "These are permission slips. I got a call from the manager of a newly formed glee club. He had seen some of our performances online and wanted to know if we could go out to their school and help them get started up; you know, get a feel for what glee club is really like."

"But, Mr. Schuester!" Rachel protested. "If this school is in our district, we'd be putting ourselves at a disadvan-"

"Rachel." Mr. Schue cut her off. "They're not in our district, so relax. We leave Wednesday, so make sure you have these forms back tomorrow, signed by your parent or guardian, alright? We're going to be gone for three to five days, so make sure you pack everything you're going to need. Now, the school is a little over a two hour drive from here, so we're going to meet here at six Wednesday morning and head out, alright?"

"Where exactly are we going?" Finn asked. Mr. Schuester grinned, walking over to the board, picking up a marker and writing their destination. He stepped back, letting all of them take in what in had written. Everyone turned to look at Toby, whose eyes were as wide as they could get, his mouth hanging slightly agape in shock as he read the words _Arborland, Michigan_.


	4. Chapter 4

Wednesday morning arrived way too soon for anyone's tastes. They had been busy all of Tuesday, prepping routines to perform for and teach to this new glee club, that Toby hadn't had time to finish telling his story.

However, when Artie was loaded up, the luggage stowed away, the bus had started rolling, and Schuester was passed out in the front of the bus, everyone had crowded around the curly haired singer, waiting for him to continue where he had left off on Monday.

"So, the recording session went amazingly," Rachel chirruped, bright eyed, oblivious to the obscenity of the hour and the fact that her fellow club members were all clutching thermoses of coffee or cans of Monster. "What happened after that?"

"Well," Toby started, pausing to let out a yawn. "Sami and Duder had a party at their house to celebrate. Once again, everyone was invited. Well, when I showed up, I went to go find Sami so I could talk to her. I found her in the kitchen, but it was so loud downstairs. I asked if there was somewhere quieter we could go to talk and she suggested upstairs. So," he stopped to yawn again, taking a long drink from his coffee when he finished. "So, we went upstairs to her room-"

"Wanky," Santana muttered, her head resting against Brittany's shoulder.

Toby rolled his eyes, snuggling closer to Kurt underneath the blanket they were sharing. "Anyway, I asked if I could borrow her guitar. She said yes, so I picked it up. I told her it didn't seem right that she had to write the song 'Sami' for herself, so I finished it. Then I played it for her-"

"Where was Tanya?" Lauren asked, her fingers messing with the strip of hair that made up Puck's mohawk. "From how you've described her, it doesn't seem like she would just let you go upstairs with Sami without her."

"Actually, I have no clue where Tanya was when all of this was going on," Toby admitted, taking another swig of coffee. "I never bothered to find out…" he trailed off, only resuming his story when multiple members obnoxiously cleared their throats and when Kurt's elbow gave him a sharp jab between the ribs. "So, after I finished the song and set down her guitar, Sami kissed me."

Sounds of choking, spit takes, cries of disgust, and little shrieks of outrage and scandal rang out amongst the group. Toby, who was currently rubbing Kurt's back to sooth him from when he had gagged himself on his sip of coffee, was baffled by this reaction. The countertenor took a few ragged breaths, looking up at his boyfriend, coughing in between every few words. "Why… did she….kiss you?" Kurt managed to get out.

"I'm guessing she had a crush on me," Toby shrugged. "I'm really not sure. I've been known to be oblivious about how other people feel about me."

"You can say that again," Kurt mumbled, still coughing slightly.

Toby wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder and squeezed. "Shut up," he whispered playfully, placing a kiss on his temple.

"White boy, continue with the story before I go over there and cut you," Mercedes spoke up from the seat she was sharing with Sam.

"Fine," Toby called back. "So, I did the only thing that made sense at the time: I kissed her back."

"_What_?" Kurt demanded, glaring at the story teller.

"So, you're gay, had a beard, and cheated on your beard with another girl. Brilliant, Phillips," Puck commented, earning his a smack in the head from Lauren.

"Well, what else are you supposed to do when someone kisses you?" Toby defended. When no one said anything, he continued. "Well, while we were kissing, Tanya walked in, saw us, and ran out. Sami chased after her. I stayed in Sami's room. A few minutes later, I heard Duder come up the stairs. He looked in Sami's room and told me that Sami was telling everyone to get out and I might want to leave. So, I went downstairs and found Sami and told her sorry-"

"For what?" Brittany asked, turning her doe-like gaze upon Toby.

Toby paused, blinking slowly as he thought. "I don't know. I guess I was just telling her sorry for everything that I never told her, like me being gay and causing her to get her hopes up. I never explained myself. I went home, the next morning, I called Tanya and apologized for cheating on her and broke up with her." He stopped talking, a thoughtful look glinting in his eyes. "She kept trying to tell me something, but I wouldn't let her. I didn't want to listen to her say how much she thought she needed me."

"I take it you didn't tell her you were gay," Mike interjected, raising an eyebrow.

Toby shook his head. "Of course not! Something like that can completely ruin a person's esteem. It'd be like 'oh yeah, I never really liked you, but I stayed with you and cheated on you. Oh and if that didn't mess up your entire thought process, guess what? I'm gay!'"

Everyone nodded and muttered in agreement. "So what'd you do after that?" Sam asked.

"I lied to my parents," Toby stated simply. "Told them people had found out I was gay at Arborland and were giving me a hard time about it. I also told them I had found a boarding school with a zero tolerance bullying policy about four hours away, that way my dad wouldn't have to worry about getting transferred again. They agreed and that's how I ended up at Dalton.

"However, they were worried my 'bullies' were going to keep stalking me and cyber bullying became such a big deal that they told me they had me registered in the school as 'Blaine Anderson'. They had talked it over with the dean and the teachers and they all agreed that it was in my best interest."

"Wow," Artie said. "That must have been rough."

"Yeah," Toby agreed. "I only go back to Arborland during Thanksgiving and Christmas. During summer vacation, we go somewhere else. That way I didn't have to risk anyone seeing me again. But now," He glanced out the window where the sun was just starting to creep up and sighed. "Looks like all of my little white lies are on the verge of being exposed."

Kurt squeezed his hand. "Hey, we're here for you, alright?" He said, everyone else voicing their agreement. "We'll keep you safe."

Toby looked back at him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I know you will."

Finn glanced at his watch. "Well, you killed about ten minutes with that story. What do you guys say we sleep the rest of the way there?"

Within the next ten minutes, everyone was sound asleep, equipped with the knowledge Toby had bestowed upon them. However, very little could prepare them for the madness that is Arborland.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, Little White Lie, or the song 'It's Over Now'**

The McKinley bus pulled into the Arborland High parking lot a little after eight. Groans filled the bus as everyone woke up, stretching their bodies out the best they could. "Alright guys!" Mr. Schuester called from the front of the bus. "Arborland's school starts at eight-thirty. We have about twenty minutes before then. So, as a _group_, we're going to go into the school, find the manager of their glee club, and discuss when they hold their meetings, alright?"

Everyone grumbled back their responses as they stood and starting filing off the bus, the exception being Artie, who had started being lowered down when Mr. Schuester had started talking and was already outside waiting on them. When Toby stepped off the bus, he looked around, taking in the familiarity of the scene. Despite the drama of everything that had happened, he had enjoyed the school.

Kurt stepped beside him, taking his hand and squeezing it slightly. "You're not out here, are you?" He asked quietly. Toby shook his head, still staring out. Kurt smiled slightly, letting go of his hand. "Well, looks like we're going to be playing pretend for the next few days then, huh?"

Toby turned to face him, but before he could protest, they heard a door slam. They all turned to see a guy wearing a black fedora, black jeans, and a white t-shirt with a black vest over it, walking away from an orange Ford Escape, an awed expression on his face. "Well, well," the guy said, ambling up to the group. "If it isn't Toby Phillips."

"Hey, Zack," Toby said, a slightly exasperated grin on his face as he and Zack exchanged a quick high-five-into-a-fist-bump. "How've you been?"

"The better question would be how've _you_ been?" Zack asked, maniac excitement lighting up in his eyes. "You disappeared off the face of the earth over a year ago, man! Right after the recording session! You put Little White Lie in a tight spot, you know!"

Toby held his hands up in surrender. "Personal problems, dude. Besides, Sami knows how to play guitar: she did for Battle of the Bands last year, remember? It couldn't have been that bad."

Zack huffed. "Well, judging by your tone, you didn't _intentionally_ sabotage my favorite band ever, so I'll let you off the hook." Zack looked around, taking in all of the stunned looks on the faces of the members of the glee club as they watched the exchange. "Oh, you guys must be New Directions! Hi, I'm Zack; I'm the manager of the glee club we just founded here at Arborland High!"

Mr. Schuester stepped forward and shook hands with him. "It's nice to meet you, Zack. I'm-"

"Will Schuester, yes, we talked on the phone!" Zack said excitedly. "I'm so glad all of you guys are here! Listen, we have a glee club meeting final period, which starts at about two-fifteen. Right now, though," he glanced down at his watch. "Arborland's greatest band is having a before school jam session. You guys should come with me and check it out." He started walking toward the building, hooking his arm through Schuester's, dragging him along as he rambled.

"What the hell?" Mercedes asked, warily the retreating duo warily.

"That's Zack," Toby informed them. "He runs Battle of the Bands every year and he apparently runs this new glee club."

"He's worse than Rachel," Santana noted, receiving nods from the rest of the members and an 'hmph' of contempt from Rachel.

"Well," Puck said, starting to walk forward. "We might as well go check out this band." Everyone, except Toby, mumbled in consent and started moving forward.

After a few steps, Kurt noticed his boyfriend wasn't beside him anymore. He looked back to see the distraught teen rooted to the spot, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans, his head down. "Hey," Kurt walked back over to him, tilting Toby's chin up, forcing the teen to look at him. "What's wrong?"

Toby's lips quirked up in a half-smile. "Worried about the all of the drama that I'm most likely leading you all into."

Kurt snorted. "Please, I go to McKinley. I _know_ drama." He hooked his arm around Toby's and pulled him along quickly so they could catch up to the rest of the group. They ended up meshing with a crowd of students who had gathered in front of the outside stairs. Toby watched as Zack jumped up the first section of steps to where it leveled flat. There, all of the band's equipment was set up. However, none of the members were in sight.

"Are you guys ready for this?" Zack called into the microphone, his words being met with an outcry of screams from the students below. "You know them collectively as Little White Lie, but just in case you're new, or you've been living under a rock for the past year, here they are: On drums is Jim Povolo." An immensely tall guy walked down the steps behind Zack, decked out in a white t-shirt and black, white –paint splattered, jeans, and took his spot behind the drum set. "Next is Kevin Bushwald on guitar." A kid with short, messy, dark hair walked out, his head down. He wore a pair of white skinny jeans and a white V-neck shirt.

"No way," Toby muttered as he watched Kevin pick up the guitar. "When did he wake up from his coma?"

The New Directions members turned to look at him, shock in all of their eyes. "He was in a _coma_? Like, for real?" Sam asked, glancing back up at the boy. Toby just nodded as Zack introduced the next member.

"Then, we have back-up vocalist, Tanya Freemont." A girl with straight, sandy blonde hair appeared; wearing a long-sleeved, white, scoop-neck shirt with a white pleated skirt, and took her place behind the microphone set up beside Kevin.

"Wait. Is that Tanya, as in, your ex-girlfriend, Tanya?" Kurt hissed, looking up at the girl. "I thought you said her and Sami hate each other."

"Yes, that's that Tanya," Toby answered wearily. "They do, and if they didn't, I'm sure they would after what happened at that party."

Zack cleared his throat, causing the crowd to settle down again. "On bass, one of the founding members of the band: Duder Reese!" A tall (but not nearly as tall as Jim), lanky guy with dark blonde, almost brown, side-bangs and hair that was spiked up in the back, came out dressed up in what Toby recognized as the outfit he had worn during the recording session.

While Duder picked up his instrument, Zack looked out at the crowd. "Now, the final member of Little White Lie, the core of the band, the lead singer and songwriter," Toby noticed Kevin, Tanya, and Duder all twitch slightly as Zack announced the last part. He shrugged it off. "Here is Sami Reese!"

The crowd erupted into its loudest cheers yet at the arrival of a girl with shoulder length, scrunched blonde hair. She wore a strapless, white, form-fitting dress that fell to the middle of her thighs with black leggings underneath that went to her knees and a thick, canvas-looking, black belt around her waist. On her hands was a pair of fingertip-less black gloves.

"Why are they all wearing mostly white?" Mercedes ask, eyeing the outfits with some apprehension.

Rachel clapped her hands together excitedly. "Don't you get it? They're little white lies!"

Toby stared at the shorter girl for a moment. "You would get along so well with Duder it's not even funny."

Everyone's attention got brought back to the band when Sami snapped her fingers four times. Jim began tapping out the beginning rhythms of the song, Kevin and Duder joining in with their chords as Sami started singing:

"_There it goes, another one is gone._

_Another try, another one is wrong._

_Where to go? What is there to say, here?_

_No one knows._

_I've never really felt, good about, the hand that I've been dealt._

_What kind of game is this anyway? Here…"_

"They're good," Puck commented.

"I actually think they've gotten better," Toby admitted, his eyes lingering on Kevin's hands on the guitar, leading him to wonder why Kevin hadn't been in a band before his accident.

"_I want to make a statement, about the pictures and their awful placement._

_I want everyone to see it too." _

Sami bobbed her head to the music, soaking in the cheers from the students in front of her before picking back up in the chorus.

"_I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,_

_I don't know how!_

_I've tried to be the one, but it's over now._

_It's over now."_

"She wrote this?" Mr. Schue asked, his voice revealing how deeply he was impressed. Sami's eyes roved the audience as she started singing again.

"_I can see the loneliness in you._

_I know it well, and_

_Everybody's got it too._

_Funny how, I know I'm not alone, here…_

_That's how it seems when I'm walking through the halls._

_Everyone has reinforced their walls._

_It's no one's fault that the vision ain't at all_

_Clear…_

_I don't know what is worse than_

_Feeling like you're not a person._

_And I want everyone to sing along."_

Sami looked out, speaking into the microphone. "Sing it with me." The entire school screamed along. Even Toby found himself singing the familiar words of the chorus.

"_I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,_

_I don't know how!_

_I've tried to be the one, but it's over now._

_It's over…_

_All I ever wanted was to reach out_

_(Reach out)_

_And have somebody take my hand._

_(Someone take my hand)_

_All I ever gotten was locked out_

_(Locked out)_

_Nobody would ever understand!"_

Sami bowed her head, her voice low as she scanned the audience.

"_I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,_

_I don't know how!_

_I've tried to be the one, but it's over now._

_It's over…_

_I've tried to be someone, but I don't know how,_

_I don't know how!_

_I've tried to be the one, but it's over now._

_It's over…_

_It's over now…_

_It's over now."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this took so long. Real life kicked in. Really quick though, I just want to say thank you to everyone who reads this story and especially to those have reviewed, favorited, or added this story to their alerts. Virtual hugs and butterfly kisses! Now, on to the chapter!**

Aborland's student body erupted into cheers, joined by the McKinley Glee Club in their enthusiasm. Duder, Sami, and Jim were grinning widely as they stepped down the stairs towards the crowd, obviously elated. Kevin and Tanya, however, both had a paucity of expression on their faces as they joined their band members, only regaining any emotion when they started interacting with the other students.

"Wow," Rachel said; her eyes still wide from the performance. "She's not on the same level as me vocally, but her song writing skills are exceptional. Should we go congratulate them?"

Toby started backing up immediately, shaking his head. "No, we're not students. We wouldn't want to obtrude."

Kurt looked at his boyfriend, an eyebrow raised at the obvious attempt to alienate the group. "Look, we don't have to go over there. But we will be meeting with their glee club later, which will contain people who know who you are. Wouldn't it be better to go ahead and get everyone's initial shock of seeing you out of the way?"

"Hey guys, stop acting so lackadaisical!" Mr. Schue shouted from where he had weaved himself into the mass of students. "Talk to some people!" He finally managed to extract himself from the larger group, bringing Zack along with him. "And Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes, please refrain from making any snide comments. We don't want to offend anyone." All three mentioned students rolled their eyes. It wasn't their fault no one else found the humor in their epigrams. Mr. Schuester looked around the group, frowning slightly. "Where'd Puck and Lauren go?"

"Oh, the guy with the Mohawk and the girl… with glasses?" Zack asked, carefully choosing his words. "I thought I saw them heading back toward the bus you guys came on." The McKinley kids just shook their heads, already used to Puck's licentious behavior. "Oh, Toby, by the way, I went ahead and told the band you were here. No need to thank me." With that, he darted off to start packing up the band's equipment.

Toby stared after him, his mouth dropped open in horror. He had never been a fatalistic thinker, but he was pretty sure destiny was screwing with him right now. Before anyone could comment though, Duder had made his way over to them and wrapped the former guitarist into a hug.

"Toby! How've you been, man?" He gushed in typical Duder fashion, still keeping one of Toby's hands clasped in his, his free hand on his shoulder. "You vanished on us." Duder's cheerful smile slid off his lips, a frown replacing it. "We were worried about you."

"Sorry, Duder," Toby replied, sincerity ringing in his words. "Just a lot of stuff came up."

A miniscule half-smile played across Duder's lips. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. But with everything that happened at the party…" He trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing. He looked over his shoulder before his eyes locked on Toby's. "Man, what happened at that party last year? That's the only thing I think could have caused this. When you left, Sami was upset for weeks and Tanya barely stopped crying for _months._"

Toby's eyebrows shot up at Duder's explanation. He had never thought of Duder as someone who picked up on things and put the pieces together like that. "Why didn't you just ask Sami what happened?"

The taller boy shrugged. "I tried. She just yelled at me whenever I brought it up. I tried talking to Tanya about it too." Toby blinked when he noticed the pensive look that crossed his friend's face when he mentioned Tanya. "She would just start sobbing and I would freak out and hug her and tell her it'd be okay. I hated when that happened, so I stopped asking." Duder frowned, obviously not fond of the memory. He looked around, jumping back slightly when he noticed the group around Toby. "Who're these guys?"

Grateful for any reason to change the subject at this point, Toby swiftly answered, "They're my friends from the school I'm at now. We're all in glee club." One by one, he went around, introducing each member. They all took quickly to the boy, praising him on the band and his bass skills in turn. Duder just flushed slightly and turned away laughing at the compliments.

Toby grinned, happy to see his friends from the two parts of his life getting along so well. He glanced into the crowd. It had separated momentarily, giving him an unimpeded view of Kevin Bushwald. "Hey, Duder, what's the deal with Kevin? When did he wake up?"

"Right after you left, actually," Duder said. "We needed a guitar player and he came and auditioned and he joined." There was something off about the story. Toby and Kurt both noticed it. Like the way he shifted his way from one foot to the other and brushed his bangs out of his eye. Before either boy could call him on it though, Duder had started leading them through the crowd, which parted to let them through. Duder called back to them. "You should meet him. I don't get why no one talked to him before. He's actually really cool. He's aunt's the weird one." Duder shuddered. "She holds meditation sessions and Sami called her a 'numismatist', I think. I just know that the walls were covered in funky looking coins."

"Wait, when did you go to his house?" Toby asked.

Duder's shoulder tensed slightly before he replied. "Sami and I found him unconscious and called the ambulance that took him to the hospital. His aunt saw us there and invited us to a meditation session for him at her house. It was creepy."

"They still haven't found the person who hit him?" Toby asked in shock. It had been over a year. That just seemed like an excessive amount of time to catch a hit and run driver.

Duder just shook his head sadly as they approached the middle of the group, where the rest of the band still was, Jim towering over all of them. "Oh, just a quick heads up," Duder said as the last pod of people shifted out of their way. New Directions let out a collective gasp of shock. Kevin and Sami's hands were linked together, fingers laced through one another's. "Kevin and Sami are dating now."

**Yeah, it's all for the sake of plot. I'm not a fan of Kevin/Sami, but Toby and Kurt are together in this, so, meh. Reviews are always lovely. ~C.Y.R.**


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